Improvement in nut-locks



-J. NELSON.

NUT-LOCK.

No.174,839. Patnted March 14, 1876.

N. PETERS, PHDTO-LWHDGRAPHER. WASI' INETONv D. (Jv

UNITED STATES PATENT Qrrroa JOHN NELSON, OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF HIS RIGHT TO WILLIAM A. TALOOTT, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN NUT-LOCKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. [74,839, dated March 14, 1876; application filed August 4, 1675.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1,J0HN NELsoN, of the city of Rockford, State of Illinois, have invented a Screw-Nut-Locking Device, of which the following is a specification:

In the use of screw-bolts in the construction of machinery and superstructures subject to varied and changing strain or to repeated jarrings, as in the connection of the ends of the rails on railroads by fish-plates, it is found that the screw-nuts become loose, their tendency being to unscrew, and finally to drop off. To prevent this I have designed and constructed the device which I now proceed to v describe.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an isoinetrical view of portions of a railroad-rail with fishplate joint and nut-lock plate embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal central sectional view; and Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional View through the center of one of the bolts.

A represents portions of a railroad-rail of the form known as the Trail. B are fishplates fitted to the sides of the rail between the upper and lower flanges of the rail, and are provided with holes to receive the screwbolts 0, which pass horizontally through the plates and central web of the rail, and are clamped and held to the'rail by the screwbolts 0 and screw-nuts c. The holes in the fish-plate on both sides of the web of the rails are of the size to closely fit the body of the bolts 0, that pass through the horizontallyslotted holes in the web of the rail. D is a nut-locking plate of greater width than the screw-nut of bolt 0, and isfitted with longitudinal central slots 12, to freely receive the bolts 0, and is also fitted with outward-projecting ears a on its edges, about centrally located with one end of the slot 1), and is of proper width between the earsto receive the screw-nuts of bolts 0 when in their proper po sition, and is of equal thickness its entire length where the screw and nuts bear upon it. This nut-locking plate is applied to the side of the fish-plate on the side to receive the screwnuts, with the ears outward, and in such position as to permit the nuts to be turned on the bolts without interfering with the projecting ears The screw-nuts c are then turned to bring the parts firmly in place. The nut-, locking plate is then driven under the screwnuts in the direction to bring the projecting ears opposite the sides of the nuts, which will securely hold them in position against any casualty. And when it is required to disengage the parts or to tighten the nuts, the plate is to be driven into the position as when first applied, so as to free the nuts from the embrace ot' the ears. The nut-locking plate may be driven or forced under the screw-nuts by any proper means. A spikemaul with or without the use of a set may be employed for the purpose. To prevent the nut-locking plate from shifting its position from any cause, its free end 01 may be bent inwi rd over the end of the fish-plate, as represented in dotted lines, Fig. 2, and when it is desired to remove it, the bent end can be readily straightened by placing a bar between it and the rail, and em ploying a slight stroke of a hammer on its out- 4 side at the bend.

Instead of the two cars a on opposite sides of the plate D, there may be but one ear next to one side of the screw-nut when plate D is in position to bring the ear to lock the nut, and the ears may be placed alternately on opposite edges of the plate D, if desired, and such ears on their sides next the nuts will be on parallel lines, and when the bar D is in position the ears, whether on the opposite sides of the screw-nut or on but one, will effectually prevent the screw-nut from rotation.

A nut-locking device, constructed as above described and applied to the abutting joints of railroad-rails, will not be affected by the contraction or expansion of the rails or fishbars, as the screw-bolts fill the holes in the fish-plates, while the slotted holes in the web of the rails will allow the variation by expansion or contraction of the rails under (litterent temperatures to exist without changing the positions of the bolts, or theclamping of the nuts on the bolts, when the slotted lockingbar is reciprocated to either lock or unlock the nuts, after the nuts are turned up to the proper clamping of the fish-plates to the rails. By interposing the fish-bar between the lockingplate and the rails, the friction of the lockingplate is greatly reduced in its reciprocation to lock the nuts over the device where a fish plate itself is made with bolt-slots and projecting ears to reciprocate and stop the nut from rotation, as the edges of the fish-plates must, to be efi'ectual, always bear hard upon Y the flanges of the rail, which are generally rough and inclined upon their meeting-sur-v faces with the edge of the fish-plates, which causes immovability, without great force is used to overcome it.

I have represented my invention as applied to railroad-rails, but do not wish to confine myself to this particular application, :as it can be employed for other purposes when two or more bolts are in line on the same plane.

I claim as my invention-'- 1. The combination, in a nut-locking device, of the slotted locking-plate D, provided with locking-ears or nut-stops a, fishplates B,

screw-bolts O, and screw-nuts'c,constructed JOHN NELSON. Witnesses:

G. G. HILL, J. 'NIELS. 

